The present invention relates to soft-walled carriers for clothing, sporting goods and the like. More particularly, it relates to a self-supporting and selectively collapsible soft-walled carrier which is generally tall and thin having a hinged door panel in an endwall of the carrier, with handle or carrying straps positioned so that the carrier is carried in a vertically oriented or upstanding position.
Soft-walled carriers for carrying numerous items are well known. Soft-walled carriers are desirable because they are relatively light weight and inexpensive when compared with earlier hard walled containers. More importantly, soft-walled containers can be collapsed, folded or compressed so that they may easily be stored in a locker or other out of the way location when not in use.
Soft-walled containers generally include a body defining an enclosure including a zippered or other recloseable opening intended to receive the articles. They usually include handles or straps to provide a convenient way to carry various articles. Most soft-walled carriers are provided with handles or carry straps that are positioned on the carrier so that the largest dimension of the carrier is disposed parallel to the ground for carrying. If the long dimension of the carrier is significantly longer than a persons front to back dimensions, as is often the case, the carriers may be cumbersome or awkward to carry, particularly when trying to negotiate with the carrier through doors or in a crowd.
Accordingly, in some carrier applications it is desirable to have the longest dimension of the carrier extend vertically with respect to the ground. This provides a relatively reduced width for the carrier making it less awkward to manage in crowded airports, public transportation and the like. Furthermore, a tall and thin container may be particularly desirable in an athletic context because the carrier may be configured to be directly placed into a locker. Moreover, a long thin carrier can be slid under an airplane seat in a manner which makes it easier to install and remove.
Tall and thin carrier bags adapted to be carried in a vertical orientation are known for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,008. This patent describes a tall and thin carrier bag having an end panel door opening which is adapted to be slidably received within an athletic locker. However, this carrier is substantially rigid and includes a pair of spaced apart framing members which undesirably increases its cost and weight and the carrier is not collapsible.
A combination backpack and a soft walled removable thermally-insulative container, adapted to be received in a sleeve compartment on or within the backpack, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,039. The soft walled tall and thin container member adapted for carrying foodstuffs in a thermally insulated compartment described therein is a self supporting soft walled carrier which is provided with a top opening. A hinged lid including a downwardly projecting peripheral side wall or lip is hingedly connected to the carrier body. The lid is adapted to telescopically fit over the open end of the carrier to provide a continuous thermally insulating foam barrier to completely surround articles placed within the carrier compartment. The containers are self supporting but they are generally not collapsible.
Accordingly it is an obJect of the present invention to provide a generally tall and thin soft walled carrier having an end panel door opening which is self-supporting without the need for framing members.
It is another object of the present invention to provide tall and thin soft walled carriers which are self-supporting and which may be selectively collapsed as desired in use.